Fecundis secures $2.4 million in seed funding

Fecundis, a medical technology start-up specialising in reproductive health, based at the Barcelona Science Park, announced today the successful closing of its seed funding round, securing $2.4 million from a group of forward-thinking investors. The round was led by Chicago-based private equity firm DuneGlass Capital, with the participation of Latin American investment funds Zentynel Frontier Investments and GRIDX.

 The company will use this new capital to accelerate the clinical testing and market launch of its first product, HyperSperm, a revolutionary sperm-focused assisted reproduction technique. This seed round also strengthens the start-up’s financial base by enabling it to increase its R&D efforts and scale-up its operations to expand its product line, with the goal of responding to the growing global demand for affordable and effective reproductive solutions. 

Fecundis, led by Dr Rita Vassena – a world-renowned scientist in the field of human fertility – was established based on a technology developed by researchers and co-founders Mariano Buffone and Dario Krapf – international leaders in sperm biology – with the mission of offering an effective, evidence based approach to increase  the efficiency of assisted reproduction treatments while reducing the associated economic and psychological impact. 

“We are delighted to have the support of such a prestigious group of investors, specialised in healthcare and biotechnology, who share our vision of improving access to reproductive care. The closing of this round will enable us to accelerate HyperSperm’s development, expand our clinical evidence base and reach critical milestones on our path to market, fulfilling our mission to help more people achieve their dreams of starting or expanding their families,” says Dr Vassena, the start-up’s CEO.

“Fecundis has the potential to revolutionise reproductive health thanks to its advanced technology in sperm biology and innovative approach,” states Ryan Graham, managing partner of DuneGlass Capital and member of Fecundis Board of Directors. “We are particularly excited about the company’s cuttingedge product line and the broad applications of its technology across industries”.

By 2023, the global fertility market is estimated to reach $70 billion, according to Precedence Research,driven by the growing awareness of and demand for advanced fertility treatments. However, today, infertility treatments remain inefficient and prohibitively expensive for most patients. 

“Currently, 180 million people suffer from infertility and more than 90% of them do not have access to effective care; the small minority of patients who are able to receive treatment face lengthy, costly and inefficient procedures. We believe that a world in which infertility is quickly diagnosed, and treatments are effective and accessible is not only possible, but also urgent and necessary,” explains Dr. Vassena. 

Fecundis wants to respond to this global clinical need by radically changing infertility treatments, placing the focus on the male gamete. HyperSperm, its most advanced development, is an assisted reproduction technique whose strategy is 100% disruptive because it focuses on achieving unprecedented improvements in sperm performance, reproducing in them the same biochemical changes that occur naturally in the female tract during spontaneous fertilisation.

The first clinical study conducted to validate it concluded with the birth of a baby in April 2023 whose patients had a long history of infertility. Fecundis is currently carrying out a definitive evaluation of the technique with more extensive trials.